Alex Jones agrees to cooperate with DOJ's Jan. 6 investigation — but demands immunity from prosecution

Infowars founder and far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, one of the many Donald Trump supporters who was in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021, has been probed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s select committee on the Capitol insurrection as well as by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). According to reporting in the New York Times, Jones is expressing his willingness to cooperate with federal DOJ prosecutors — but he wants a promise of immunity from prosecution in return.

“Alex Jones, the host of the conspiracy-driven media outlet Infowars and a key player in the pro-Trump ‘Stop the Steal’ movement, is in discussions with the Justice Department about an agreement to detail his role in the rally near the White House last January 6 that preceded the attack on the Capitol,” Times journalists Alan Feuer, Adam Goldman and Katie Benner report. “Through his lawyer, Mr. Jones said he has given the government a formal letter conveying ‘his desire to speak to federal prosecutors about January 6.’”

The Times reporters add, “The lawyer, Norm Pattis, maintained that Mr. Jones had not engaged in any ‘criminal wrongdoing’ that day when — chanting slogans about 1776 — he helped lead a crowd of Trump supporters in a march to the Capitol as violence was erupting. As a condition of being interviewed by federal investigators, Mr. Jones, who is known for his rants about the ‘Deep State’ and its supposed control over national affairs, has requested immunity from prosecution.”

One of Jones’ allies, Ali Alexander, recently received a subpoena from a federal grand jury that is seeking information from people involved in the events of January 6, 2021 and the events leading up to that day. Alexander, like Jones, was a major player in the “Stop the Steal” movement, promoting the Big Lie and the false, debunked claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump through widespread voter fraud. Alexander, who marched with Jones in Washington, D.C. on the day of the Capitol insurrection, has agreed to cooperate with the subpoena.

“If prosecutors ultimately speak with Mr. Jones,” Feuer, Goldman and Benner explain, “they will encounter a polarizing figure with a broad range of ties to people in pro-Trump circles, including some of Mr. Trump’s aides and advisers. Mr. Jones was closely involved in pro-Trump rallies in Washington on November 14 and December 12 in 2020, working with rally organizers, prominent speakers and far-right militant groups like the Oath Keepers, whose members provided security at the gatherings. One of Mr. Jones’ top lieutenants at Infowars, Owen Shroyer, also was at the forefront of the mob that stormed the Capitol. Mr. Shroyer was arrested in August and is facing federal misdemeanor charges in connection with the riot.”

On April 18, the Times reported that Infowars — which has been battling multiple civil lawsuits from the families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre — had filed for bankruptcy. Jones’ Infowars outfit has included his radio program, “The Alex Jones Show,” as well as the Infowars.com website.